y the Polish Corridor (5), which contained a large German population. (6) These conditions would later resurface as major issues in Hitlers Germany twenty years later. Furthermore, Article 102 of the treaty established the town of Danzigas a Free City. (7) The controversy surrounding this provision developed as a sensitive issue to the Germans since the population of Danzig was largely German. To the Germans, these conditions added insult to injury. Unfortunately, the treaty did not stop with these conditions.The Treaty of Versailles has become infamous for the harsh reparations it imposed on Germany. Perhaps even more notorious is the War Guilt Clause contained in the peace. The War Guilt Clause, Article 231 in the treaty, arose out of a controversy during the negotiations in the spring of 1919 concerning the nature of reparations that would be collected. It was argued whether or not to include war costs in the reparations to be levied or just civilian damages suffered. Prime Minister David Lloyd-George of Britain and Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau, unsure of whether or not war costs would be include, insisted that the treaty assert at least the moral right of the Allies to recover the cost of the war forced upon them by Germany. (8) Lloyd-George maintained that if we do not exact it [war costs], it is not because it would be unjust to claim it (9) This sentiment, though meeting opposition from President Wilsons delegation, resulted in the inclusion of Article 231 in the treaty. The provision, after Germanys Weimar Republic delegates signed the treaty on June 28, 1919, bound the German nation to accept full moral responsibility for all damages to the citizens of the Allied countries and for the precipitation of the war itself. (10) The provision blatantly ignored Austria-Hungarys culpability in the conflict, as that country was completely dismantled by a separate treaty. The effects of Article 231 were far-reaching. ...
